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Sic Parvis Magna: Nihil
Cipher was a legendary mercenary pilot who fought with the Republic of Ustio in the Belkan War. A man whose life was shrouded in mystery, he was renowned for his prowess in combat, gaining the fear and admiration of enemies and allies alike. During his service with Ustio, he served as the leader of the 66th Air Force Unit, the "Galm Team", seeing action in pivotal events such as the liberation of Ustio and the destruction of the Excalibur superweapon. As well, he was known for his skills at Area B7R, being known as the "Demon Lord of the Round Table" for taking down many famed Belkan aces. Biography Life as a mercenary Cipher was one of the many foreign mercenaries who fought under Ustio to replace their devastated standing army. He and fellow mercenary Larry Foulke were chosen by the Ustio military's command to form the 66th Air Force Unit, part of the former 6th Air Division. His first combat action in the war was the defense of Valais Air Base in April 2, 1995, demonstrating his skill by taking down a Belkan bomber unit. Along with Pixy, he saw action in various battles in the Ustio theater of war, liberating Route 171 in Sapin and assisting the Osean 3rd Naval Fleet in Offensive Campaign No. 4101. He later participated in the liberation of Directus, the capital of Ustio, which saw the destruction of the elite Gelb Squadron and the liberation of Ustio. From mid-May, Cipher was involved in the allies' invasion of Belka, attacking major strongholds during the attack on the Hydrian Line and eliminating enemy forces at the Schayne Fields. In the latter operation, he narrowly avoided death at the hands of the missile interceptor weapon Excalibur, dodging the weapon's attacks as he fled outside its range. He later led an attack force against Excalibur in May 23, 1995, single-handedly taking down the weapon. In May 28, he and Pixy were dispatched to aid allied forces in the famed Operation Battle-Axe, destroying numerous Belkan forces and taking down various aces, including Michael Heimeroth and Ashley Bernitz, and became known as the "Demon Lord of the Round Table" for his actions. Cipher later participated in the bombing of Hoffnung in June 1, where the Allied forces' indiscriminate bombing of the city deeply affected his wingman. Nearly a week after the Hoffnung incident, he and his wingman were chosen for a mission targeting an important arms factory in Sudentor. The operation ended with Galm caught in the middle of the seven nuclear explosions set off by Belka in the Waldreich Mountains; Pixy nearly killed Cipher before disappearing in Nord Belka. The pilot took down an squadron of Belkan fighters and returned to Valais Air Base. Post-war operations The weeks following the catastrophe at Waldreich were marked by covert operations carried out by Ustio to eliminate remnants of the Belkan Army refusing to disarm. Cipher, along with Patrick James Beckett of the Crow Squadron, were involved in a clean-up operation at Mount Schirm in central Belka, and later worked with other mercenaries in a secret mission against Belkan troops at Anfang. The Galm Team did not see any action for the rest of the year until the uprising of the revolutionary "A World With No Boundaries" group in December 25, when the stolen XB-0 Hresvelgr heavy command cruiser bombed the city of Lumen. After the ship bombed Valais Air Base, Cipher pursued it to the Waldreich Mountains and single-handedly destroyed it in a heated fight, sending it crashing into the earth after hitting the cockpit. Four days later, the Allied forces discovered the group's headquarters at Avalon Dam, a missile silo in Belka. The Galm Team flew to the Mund Valley, the home of the dam, and Cipher destroyed the launch control systems of a V2 missile. However, the battle was marked by the return of his former wingman Pixy, now aligned with A World With No Boundaries, flying the ADFX-02 Morgan prototype. Faced with the impending launch of the V2, Cipher took down Pixy in a heated dogfight, destroying the Morgan with a series of head-on attacks, ending the Belkan War with the self-destruction of the missile. Months after the Avalon Dam mission, Cipher disappeared from the skies, never to be seen again. Legacy As a player character, Cipher has been treated as a "legacy character", and is constantly alluded to in most games following Ace Combat Zero. Ace Combat 6 *The Ace of Aces version of "Heavy Command Cruiser" features an enemy ace named "Galm", who spawns to defend the P-1112 Aigaion with a number of ace pilots named after characters from previous games. However, the F-15C is replaced with the F-15E Strike Eagle, which is adorned with the Estovakian SP colors. *A variant of the F-15E Strike Eagle, called "F-15E -CIPHER", can be downloaded. It features upgraded mobility and enhanced combat capabilities, at the expense of vastly weakened armor. *In the mission "Chandelier", when the player and their allies assault the eponymous railgun a minor radio transmission can be heard amidst the battle chatter. Said transmission says "Galm 1, engage the enemy ace and...", but is cut off by mission dialogue. Ace Combat: Joint Assault *In SP02 mission, Ace of Aces, the 40th aircraft, "Garm 1", is featured as an enemy ace. The difference is that the aircraft is an F-15E Strike Eagle and that his plane has no Ustio Air Force roundels. *Cipher's paint scheme is an unlockable for the F-15E, with the exception of Cipher's number (032, Ustio Air Force roundels, and the Galm squadron logo on its tail is missing. Ace Combat: Assault Horizon *In Ace Combat: Assault Horizon, Cipher's paint scheme is made available for the F-15C Eagle. It is unlocked alongside a Pixy scheme and the "Galm" callsign when the "Ace Pilot" bonus has been achieved five times in competitive multiplayer. Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Legacy *In Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Legacy, a particular computer part is named "Garm's Eye", alluding to the Galm Team's Nordic namesake *Cipher's livery is available as the fifth color of the F-15SE Strike Eagle. Trivia *Cipher's title "Demon Lord of the Round Table" is a word play of "Knights of the Round Table". In the Japanese language, Knights of the Round table is "Entaku no Kishi" (円卓の騎士). Changing the word "Kishi" (騎士) to "Kishi'n'" (鬼神) changes the meaning from "Knight(s)" to "Demon God" or "Demon Lord". Gallery